As an audit manager or reviewer, you may be involved in long discussions about what your department’s “ideal” audit report should look like. Opinions vary on what constitutes a quality report, how long it should be, and which writing standards should be followed.

Result: feedback given to auditors is inconsistent, and there is no chance for them to improve against a benchmark. And all of this internal back-and-forth occurs even before any content-related auditee pushback you may be confronted with. This often means reports are issued long after the audit was performed. In the worst case, those involved in the initial meetings have moved on to a new role in a different department, and you have to re-establish those vital relationships and enter a new round of reconciliation discussions about the report.

So how can you turn around the situation?

 1. A common understanding of what a “standard” report should look like – with agreement coming from all stakeholders, including audit management, auditors, and executive management.

2. With these basic expectations in place, a report template and writing standards are the next building blocks.

3. To get everyone into the new mindset, training on content, language and style are essential.

4. Calibration sessions with reviewers and coaching based on real-life audit reports wrap up the process.

5. Finally, regular checkpoints should be set up to review progress and any room for improvement.

I recently supported a large organization to make this journey. Within months, they have achieved impressive results:

 ✔ A shorter report overall

 ✔ An executive summary that clearly highlights the risks, underlying causes, and significant audit findings

 ✔ Factual and persuasive findings

 ✔ Action-oriented recommendations that are easy to follow up

 ✔ Significantly reduced audit report issue cycle and greater value-add for the business

It’s results like this that drive me to keep doing what I do: Sharing my proven techniques and strategies to write clearer, more concise and persuasive audit reports. So why don’t you let me help you help your team transform your audit reports? I’m ready if you are.

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Tracie Marquardt is a trainer, coach and consultant who has successfully helped HUNDREDS of professionals in Germany, Europe and beyond, to be more effective in their communication skills and to communicate more effectively in today’s global environment. Tracie’s passion is helping quality assurance and finance professionals to communicate key messages in important business situations clearly and concisely. This enables her clients to show the added value of their work and to be agents of positive change within their organizations. Communicating effectively in a global environment CAN be learned, be fun, and bring you what YOU might be missing: The power to inspire others to take action. Whether it’s for you or for your team, contact Tracie today for your complimentary Communication Assessment call.